Having looked at this situation further, I am glad to say that I did not find any information in Victoria's background that I considered to be a red flag.
However, I would appreciate hearing more from Victoria about her involvement in "Total Information Awareness" [0] and similar programs, past or present.
I would also appreciate it if the controversial email thread that was referenced in the article that James linked [1] could be made public.
I'd like to respond to a comment that Katherine made. Katherine said, "...Her findings and recommendations will also be a matter of public record, as all government work should be." Please keep in mind that some information is kept quiet with good reason in government and in other industries and organizations, including WMF and the Wikimedia community. I have pressed WMF repeatedly about transparency matters (particularly regarding its financial expenses, which I believe should be much more transparent), but even I agree that some information should be confidential.
Based on what I have learned so far, my inclination is to continue to assume good faith of Victoria and WMF regarding this appointment while hoping for responses to the queries above. I am glad to have a CTO, and I am hopeful that all will be well. In my comments in this thread, I am trying to balance the protection of the community with the wish to welcome someone who might be an important "net positive" for us and a good fit for the kind of public service that we do here.
Regards,
Pine
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_Information_Awareness [1] http://www.nytimes.com/2002/ <goog_94271447> 11/22/world/threats-responses- <goog_94271447>surveillance-terror-tracking- <goog_94271447>agency-weighed-but-discarded- <goog_94271447>plan.html